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Criminal justice & regulatory - Legal 500

The comments below are taken from The Legal 500. The Legal 500 is a clients guide to the best law firms, lawyers and solicitors.

For some, Stephensons Solicitors LLP ‘leads the way nationally in human rights and civil liberties litigation ’. The ‘very well-regarded and long-established legal aid firm’ impresses by virtue of its team’s ‘efficiency and grasp of the essentials of every case’. Sean Joyce leads the team, which includes Mike Pemberton, whose ‘good humour and the mastery of the detail of their cases immediately puts clients at ease’. Correna Platt and Rachel Adamson are ‘outstanding performers who are extremely thorough, are committed to their clients and who bring a very great level of preparation and commitment to the cases they work on’. (2017)

The ten-strong community care and Court of Protection team at Stephensons Solicitors LLP is part of the firm’s civil liberties practice, which is headed by Mike Pemberton. It acts for a range of vulnerable adults and children with physical disabilities and mental health issues. Associate Melanie Varey has developed a niche practice representing clients in relation to decisions over the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. (2017)

Stephensons Solicitors LLP’s ‘top-notch’ team is singled out for its human rights and civil liberties work. Correna Platt is rated for her criminal appeal work and Michael Pemberton ‘knows the Supreme Court in the way that most solicitors know their local Magistrates Court’. Sean Joyce heads the regulatory and criminal justice department. (2016)

Stephensons Solicitors LLP’s team is noted for its skill at handling serious fraud and regulatory cases and for its niche expertise in tachograph fraud... John Greenwood (‘there is nothing he does not know about serious fraud litigation’) and ‘incredibly bright’ solicitor Priscilla Addo-Quaye. (2016)

The ‘top-notch’ six-partner team at Stephensons Solicitors LLP has expertise spanning transport law, appeals and miscarriages of justice, prison law and human rights matters. Managing partner Sean Joyce heads the regulatory and criminal justice department. Mike Pemberton is ‘an outstanding civil liberties solicitor’, and head of the appeals team. Correna Platt ‘leaves no stone unturned’. Former team head Martin Jones is now a consultant with the firm. (2015)

Stephensons Solicitors LLP’s ‘thorough and pragmatic’ team ‘really fights for its clients’, and is noted for its fraud and regulatory work. It acted for a property surveyor in a high-profile fraud matter. Sean Joyce is also noted. (2015)

The ‘expert' team at Stephensons Solicitors LLP conducts criminal defence work for individuals and businesses, and is particularly noted for miscarriage of justice matters, prison law and human rights. Managing partner Martin Jones heads the team. (2014)

Stephensons Solicitors LLP's cross-office team handles a variety of private and publicly funded criminal matters, and has seen a significant increase in regulatory work. Martin Jones and Sean Joyce are both recommended. Mike Pemberton was promoted to partner. (2012)

Stephensons Solicitors LLP has scored some notable victories in criminal appeal cases, and its prison law team has also been successful in a number of groundbreaking high-profile cases. Neal Boland leads the regulatory team. (2011)

Stephensons Solicitors LLP has strength in depth in relation to general crime. The ‘efficient’ Campbell Malone is recommended, as is prison law expert Mike Pemberton. The firm prosecutes for local authorities, and defends VOSA and FSA actions. Steven Swift joined the criminal offences department. (2010)

Stephensons Solicitors LLP is ‘one of only a handful of firms that have expertise to deal effectively with criminal appeals’. Campbell Malone is 'undoubtedly “the elder statesman” of criminal appeals’. The team, which is led by Martin Jones, continues to assist Manchester City Council. (2009)

Stephensons offers a ‘very competitive’ service and acts for a considerable number of local authority clients such as Warrington Borough Council and Wirral Metropolitan Borough covering civil litigation and prosecutions as well as social services and education work. It has prosecuted over 2,500 cases for Manchester City Council. (2008)

In 2006 Stephensons added significantly to the portfolio of local authority clients for which it carries out regulatory prosecutions. One of the largest of these clients is Oldham Council. Campbell Malone is highly regarded for miscarriage of justice cases. (2007)

Stephensons is active in high-profile regulatory prosecution work, with a wide client base comprising corporates and public authorities, including Manchester City Council, in addition to private clients. Neal Boland heads the department and the renowned Campbell Malone was acclaimed for his role in the overturning of Stefan Kiszko's life-sentence for murder, 17 years after imprisonment. (2005)

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